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The purpose of this paper is to comparatively analyse the best human resource management (HRM) practices in the hotel sector of Samoa and Tonga.

This study examined best HRM practices used by the hotel sector of Samoa and Tonga by using self-administered questionnaires. Self-administered questionnaires were distributed to 73 hotels in Samoa and 66 hotels in Tonga. Out of the 73 self-administered questionnaires that were distributed in Samoa, 58 usable questionnaires were returned resulting in a response rate of 79 per cent. In the case of Tonga, out of the 66 self-administered questionnaires were distributed, 51 usable questionnaires were returned resulting in a response rate of 77 per cent.

The findings of this study show that there are 28 best HRM practices in Samoa and 15 best HRM practices in Tonga. This study also found that best HRM practices differ based on differences in internal and external environmental factors present in different geographical areas. The findings of this paper support the assumptions of the Contextual Paradigm of HRM and strategic human resource management.

This study is based on a single sector of Samoa and Tonga. A single sector study limits the generalisations that can be made across different sectors in Samoa and Tonga.

Human resource managers should incorporate cultural, political, legal, economic and social factors in HRM practices.

None of the existing studies have examined best HRM practices used by the hotel sector of Samoa and Tonga. This study is a pioneering study that comparatively analyses the best HRM practices used by the hotel sector of Samoa and Tonga.

This research examines the effects of the context on the relationship between work design, learning mechanism and total quality management (TQM). The exploratory study examines the differential effects in context on how human resources and their activities are strategically managed for achieving TQM. Two theoretical frameworks – activity theory and contextual learning theory – are concurrently used for analysis. Specifically, the manufacturing companies, the authors examine are (1) technology-intensive company which has bought technology from a global foreign establishment (MU1), (2) technology-intensive companies having their own technology (MU2) and (3) labor-intensive units (MU3) of varying organizational sizes.

This case study-based research consists of 27 in-depth interviews with managers and employees of different hierarchies in each manufacturing unit. The authors interviewed them using semi-structured questions that were pre-validated by five senior HR experts from the manufacturing industry. Document analysis, multiple site visits and website content helped triangulation. The data are coded and analyzed using Dedoose software for qualitative research.

Activity diagrams for each manufacturing unit provides task and interaction analysis. Within and cross-case analysis address complexity and challenges of contextual reality, influences on work design and learning mechanism. HRD executives must recognize that there may be well-differentiated learning behaviors that align with organizational strategy. The learning behaviors may not be well-differentiated and become very dynamic. This dynamism may be characterized by double loop and single-loop learning feeding into each other.

This study provides substantial practical implications for HRD and other managers in the manufacturing sector.

The new theoretical framework adds to organizational behavior studies through multi-level and cross-contextual approach. It informs strategic combinations and interactions between internal and external context, and learning needs implicating work design and TQM.

In Europe, the alignment of national public administration policies and practices to EU directions is regarded as a key factor in the process of integration. Administrative convergence within European public administration systems places new demands on human resource managers in every member state. Seeks to show that Greek public administration is aiming to investigate the organizational competencies needed for the successful alignment of the Greek civil service with EU directions.

The approach is survey research conducted within Greek public administration. The STAIR (strategy, targets, assignment, implementation, results) model has been used as the appropriate performance management framework.

Suggests that the HRM role in the contemporary public sector environment is to develop a strategic performance management framework for changing performance at organizational level and make human resources active drivers of this process.The results reveal that convergence with EU policies draws heavily on how human resource executives can manage the following three soft organizational capabilities: competence, commitment and continuity – the STAIR model's 3“Cs”.

Contributes to the literature on directions for public sector management in Greece.

Quality management is dominated by rational paradigms for the measurement and management of quality, but these paradigms start to “break down”, when faced with the inherent complexity of managing quality in intensely competitive changing environments. In this article, the various theoretical strategy paradigms employed to manage quality are reviewed and the advantages and limitations of these paradigms are highlighted. A major implication of this review is that when faced with complexity, an ideological stance to any single strategy paradigm for the management of quality is ineffective. A case study is used to demonstrate the need for an integrative multi‐paradigm approach to the management of quality as complexity increases.

The purpose of this paper is to further the theoretical understanding of leadership in emergency type organisations by modelling contextual aspects which are assumed to influence it.

A theoretical analysis followed by an operationalisation of key concepts and two small‐scale empirical cross‐sectional tests.

Contextual conditions at the group, organisation, and environmental levels that are assumed to influence leadership in emergency type organisations were modelled in lower‐ to higher‐extent bipolar dimensions. An empirical test involving Scandinavian military officers (n=57) and Swedish health care (ambulance) professionals (n=39) yielded profiles for leaders at three different hierarchical levels during severely demanding operations: field‐level group/team leaders; field‐level commanders/managers; and high‐level strategic commanders/managers. Considerable differences were found between the three profiles on scales designed to measure environmental and more structure‐related organisational conditions. Almost no differences were noted on “softer” aspects such as organisational culture and small group characteristics.

The study focuses only on traditional hierarchical organisations that are designed to function in extreme conditions (the armed forces and acute health care).

If empirically further tested and proved valid, the suggested model could be of value in leadership and organisational development efforts.

The theoretical approach is new. The presented operationalisations open up for full‐model tests of leadership models based on an interactional person‐by‐situation paradigm.

Purpose – The purpose is to explore public participation as a means to overcome jurisdictional barriers in governance of trans-boundary wildlife management issues.

Methodology/approach – We present one model, defining six philosophical approaches to public participation, then examine relationships between these approaches and traits of stakeholder communities, revealing three distinct governance paradigms: top–down governance, public input, and public engagement. These paradigms illustrate that the different approaches represent fundamentally different types of participation, not simply varying amounts of participation. Using case studies from the United States, we demonstrate how some state, federal, and local government institutions have successfully applied public input and public engagement models of governance to suburban white-tailed deer management. While both models can be used effectively, certain approaches may be preferable to others depending on specific management context, public participation goals, and target publics.

Findings – Public input approaches appear better suited to addressing complex problems and communities of interest, while public engagement approaches may better resolve wicked problems that affect communities of place. Future research is needed to clarify the relationship between success of governance paradigms and contextual considerations.

Originality/value of chapter – The chapter goes beyond many existing approaches to public participation and governance and presents interesting findings related to exurbanized and protected areas in the USA.

The purpose is to carry out a strategic evaluation of re‐engineering, restructuring, delayering and downsizing as an influential management paradigm. Contends that this contemporary paradigm is flawed. Defines and describes the contemporary strategic paradigm of the re‐engineering, restructuring, delayering and downsizing of companies and corporations and places this paradigm within its management context. Analyses, evaluates and restates this management paradigm, questioning its assumptions of rationality and universality. Examines organization culture as a key contingency in the application of the paradigm, and qualifies the paradigm on the basis of cross‐cultural comparison. Suggests how the paradigm is flawed, and comments on the implications of its application for long‐term corporate competitive advantage. Proposes that management should, instead, be treated as a strategic asset rather than a mere overhead cost, and suggests alternatives to the uncritical and unquestioning acceptance and implementation of the paradigm.

The purpose of this paper is to propose a conceptualisation of the components of contextual marketing (CM), in light of the outcome of the Charleston Summit, through the development of the meaning and operation of language used in context – that is: the language and the associated meaning of words used in a highly socialised setting such as a small firm and articulated through conversation.

A conceptualisation of the components of CM are proposed based upon a critical review of pertinent literature and the development of extant conceptualisations for research at the marketing/entrepreneurship interface.

A model is produced that outlines a development of one of the four perspectives (as an outcome of the Charleston Summit) of research at the marketing/entrepreneurship interface and proposes that a third notion be considered in developing research studies that includes the wider aspects of sociology, psychology, anthropology and philosophy – in this case: sociolinguistics, in order that a better insight be gained of the meaning and operation of marketing at the “interface”.

A more detailed understanding of the components of CM will advance research meaning and gain practitioner credibility.

This paper develops a conceptual framework for future and further research at the interface by considering the need to introduce fundamental socially derived aspects to the scope of research – in this case the third notion of sociolinguistics – in order to gain a better insight to the phenomena of marketing in entrepreneurial small firms.

To examine HRM strategies and practices and HRM position within organizations in various cultural, economic and sociopolitical contexts from a longitudinal perspective.

The study uses the 1995 and 1999 Cranet data in a longitudinal methodological framework to explore the changes and trends in 18 European countries with regard to certain HRM issues between the points of time when measurements took place. Country is the unit of analysis, and cluster analysis is used for each of the two waves of data to classify countries into relatively homogeneous groups/clusters.

The overall picture is that the 18 countries form two major clusters. Countries in Europe can be systematically clustered in a North/West‐South/East distinction, regarding HRM practices. There is no indication of convergence between the major clusters. However, movement from one cluster to another was observed, with Italy and East Germany moving to the North‐western cluster.

The level of analysis, which is HR practices at a national (average values) and regional level, is a methodological limitation of the present study. Analysis at this level conceals qualitative differences between countries, which are important in the contextual paradigm.

The issue of convergence in HR practices has important implications for HR managers in multinationals who operate in Europe and the transferability of HR practices.

This paper addresses the issue of whether over time there is an increasing “Europeanisation” (convergence) of HRM practices in Europe or not, by studying HR practices in 18 European countries.

Scholars for long have been interested in finding effective ways to assess organizational effectiveness. However, lack of consensus on its definition, and consequently on measure parameters has dogged researchers, almost to the point that some academics have declared organizational effectiveness a subject that cannot be researched. The purpose of this paper is to present a unified model of organizational effectiveness by recognizing the underlying synergy in the body of research – a framework that could guide future research on organizational effectiveness as a comprehensive, but contextual paradigm.

This paper is based on extensive exploratory review and critique of extant literature on organizational effectiveness.

The lack of consensus among scholars on the meaning of organizational effectiveness and its measures is primarily the result of compartmentalized perspectives. The authors found that there is an underlying synergy among them. Basis a big picture review and analysis of extant literature, the authors have been able to identify a unifying framework for the apparently disparate and conflicting models of organizational effectiveness.

This paper can provide guidance to managers on appropriate selection of organizational effectiveness measures, and to scholars on developing a more holistic and pragmatic research approach on the subject. It can potentially lead to development of context-based scales that facilitate meaningful comparative studies.

This paper presents a unified model and framework for organizational effectiveness by building on the valuable but disparate contributions of previous researchers. The authors believe that this is a novel attempt that simplifies the discourse on organizational effectiveness, and will help to remove some of the negativity around the research subject.